


A Conversation in the Locker Room

by Spatzi (pretentioys)



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Bullying, Dialogue Heavy, Enemies to Friends, Homeless Jughead, Light Angst, Locker Room, M/M, Poor Life Situations, Some Humor, idk these boys don't know how to relate to relate to people and it makes me feel things, jughead uses one-liners to deflect away from his suffering, reggie actually feels empathy for once and he Does Not Know How to Cope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9583142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretentioys/pseuds/Spatzi
Summary: Jughead was bracing himself from a hit from the other. Typical of the jock picks on loner formula. Jughead wouldn’t fight it. Just take it so it would be over sooner. He would leave, maybe swipe some stuff from nurse’s office, then lick his wounds.But the punch never came.





	

**Author's Note:**

> heyy i love my mutuals writing some reghead for me for the past couple of days but i knew i had to do it myself. edit: reggie x jughead has a healthier foundation in the comics and i hope riverdale will explore reggie's character more in the future. 
> 
> this is based on the Homeless Jughead theory floating around

Reggie didn’t really know when he started taking notice. 

Was is it even his business to?

That’s probably why it took him so long to act.

Though a week ago, he caught Jughead in the hallway. It had only been them when Reggie saw him cutting through the halls after school. A beeline for one of the side exits probably.

Wasn’t that weird for kids to lag after school, but Jughead’s hair had been wet.

Before then, Reggie noticed other things.

The kid’s same rotation of clothes every week. Reggie coulda chalked it up to him being weird, but they were always washed and it’s not like Jughead was never too greasy. 

It became a puzzle that he wanted to solve. Suddenly, Reggie’s eyes were on Jughead a lot. 

During class, his eyes would just wander to his computer screen. Nothing interesting really. It wasn’t like Jughead was checking Twitter so Reggie could snoop. 

But his notes were just detailed, Jughead was always on task. Reggie’s ADHD ass envied him as he tuned out another of Flutesnoot’s history lectures. 

Suddenly, it was a game in Reggie’s head to catch Jughead mistype something. It honestly pissed Reggie off he got “Nefertiti” right before Flutesnoot took the time to spell it out for the class. He sat back in his chair, sighing in frustration. 

“Is something wrong, Mister Mantle?” 

Reggie’s eyes snapped to the front. Flutesnoot’s attention as well and everyone else’s were on him. 

Reggie tried to shrug it off, fiddling with his pencil, “Nah, I was just... thinking of something.”

“Well, I think,” Flutesnoot emphasized, “you should see me after class. Now, back to the New Kingdom...”

Of course, the hardass would say so. Reggie grimaced in annoyance. But his gaze flitted over to Jughead again. Who happened to be looking at him too. Their mutual eye contact only lasted a second before Jughead was back to taking notes. 

Reggie didn’t know how to take that the unreadable expression on Jughead’s face. But it frustrated him to no end.

He scowled as he closed on his notebook on the page of doodles and vague chicken scratch the rest of the period. 

Class ended. Jughead was the first one out as always. Laptop gingerly put away, messenger back anchored off his shoulder, and zip - he’s gone. Reggie sat as as everyone else funneled out, all busting for the weekend.

After a few minutes of chewing Reggie out, Flutesnoot let him off. Teacher didn’t wanna stay here any longer than the students. 

Football was cancelled due to weather, but Reggie was skulking around the school. Something was still itching him to stick around. The jock hung around the hallways outside the gym where he’d last caught him last, hair all damp. 

Something made him think to check the locker room. With practice cancelled, Reggie expected it to be locked. It wasn’t. 

Coach must’ve not left yet.

He peeled open the door and headed in. Keeping an eye out for the coach to be in his office. He wasn't. The lights were off too.

His curiosity piqued when he noticed the sound of the showers. Reggie wasn’t sure what to make of it. Definitely no one would taking one at the time. 

If it was Jughead like he guessed... why? 

He didn’t play a sport. He didn’t even do anything extra curricular at all. All he did was write that damn novel. 

Reggie saw clothes sat on the locker room benches, out in the open. Dark pants and a gray shirt folded up neatly. Jughead’s backpack. 

Suspicion settled in his gut as he held for a moment, feet cemented to the floor. Just caught listening to the sound of the shower. 

Then it stopped suddenly. Reggie panicked, not prepared to hide.

Now he was caught. And Jughead, towel wrapped around his waist and dark hair sopping, stared at him in alarm. They stood a couple feet apart between the row of lockers and the only exit.  
Reggie raised his hands defensively, ready to say something. 

Jughead darted. Shit, he was like a cat. How fast was this kid?

Reggie jerked, stumbling a step aside. This made Jughead knock into him full force. 

Obviously, Jughead had been trying to duck out between Reggie to the exit, but it backfired. Jughead was sent back, stumbling away from hitting into Reggie square in the chest. He had to cling to keep his towel wrapped around his waist. 

Reggie’s mind was racing. Caught up in the adrenaline, he blurted out, “Were you literally just gonna run out of here naked?”

“Fuck,” Jughead swore, “Maybe, I dunno.”

The rushed, anxiousness in Jughead’s voice was weird to hear. Well, actually hearing Jughead talk at all was weird. He rarely talked nowadays, but when he did - it was calculated, practiced to be scathing. Honestly, Reggie thought Jughead holed up all day in his room thinking up and practicing all those one-liners of his.

“Oh my god,” Reggie said. He was just rattled over this whole situation, “Why are you showering here, Norman Bates?”

Jughead prickled. He avoided eye contact. He was thinking, trying to think up a good excuse for this. Was there one? 

“Norman Bates wasn’t the one taking the shower,” Jughead finally said. 

Reggie’s mind went blank. 

“It was actually Marion Crane, but I don’t expect you to know that.”

This freak was literally correcting him over horror movie trivia when he’d just caught up him naked in the school locker room. Okay. 

“What the fuck, man?” 

Jughead met Reggie’s eyes again, “Don’t reference stuff you don’t know, buddy.”

He was still speechless. 

“It’s Hitchcock’s Psycho, Mantle. Do you even know that much-”

“You’re psycho,” Reggie returned, pissed, “You’re literally naked right now..”

 

“It is the showers, Reggie. One usually doesn’t wear clothes in the shower.”

Reggie clenched a fist, speaking emphatically, “Why the fuck have you been showering at school, Jughead?”

The use of his actual name by Reggie threw Jughead off. Cutting his quipping short. It brought the urgent tension from earlier full circle. The stared at each other in dumb silence again. 

Reggie grimaced, working to get the other talking, “I saw you the other day leaving with your hair wet or something.” 

Jughead couldn’t hide how guilty he looked. He asked, “Can I get dressed first before I explain?”

For emphasis, he shook the towel that hung loosely around his thin waist. Point taken. A lot.

“Yeah, sure,” Reggie conceded, ignoring the heat swarming to his face. 

It was embarrassing how long they stood talking at each other like that. Reggie played with his hands, trying to avoid looking as Jughead put on his clothes. He’d seen enough of Jughead Jones for his lifetime.

“Done,” Jughead announced in no time. 

Jesus, he was fast. Reggie took another once over on him. Jughead looked more natural fully clothed, but the nervousness from earlier still stuck to him. It was foreign to Reggie to see the kid so damn expressive. This was not the deadpan loser he was use to shoving around. Whatever was going on, it was personal to Jughead.

“So,” Reggie tried to keep it cool, “What’s up?”

It only made it worse. Too casual, too intimate of a thing for Reggie to ask. Out of character really. They both hated the way he said it. Both hated being unsure of what the fuck to do. Jughead was holding onto a secret and part of Reggie wanted him to keep it to himself.

Another part of Reggie wanted to take a wild guess from the millions of theories he’d been thinking of for weeks. 

“I’ve decided,” Jughead spoke, but even he didn’t sound sure of it, “It’s not your business,” 

Reggie shook his head, “I caught you up in here... This is the sort of thing you answer for. It’s fucking suspicious, that’s for sure.”  
Jughead bit back, “Does this make you think I’m the murderer or something?”

“No!” 

What was his fucking problem? Couldn’t Jughead tell he was concerned? 

Jughead went tight-lipped. Turning away from Reggie, he began gathering his bag, slinging it over himself. 

“Where the fuck are you going?” Reggie demanded, taking a step forward to block Jughead from leaving. 

“To Pop’s,” Jughead snarled as he flinched away from Reggie getting close to him.

To Pops. Of course. That’s where Jughead always went after school. From to 3 pm til closing every single day. Sitting in the third booth from door on the left side, working on his laptop. Unapproachable, closed off to the world. 

God, and they called Reggie self-involved!

“You can’t just go and expect to not explain why you’ve been doing this.”

“Like, I said,” Jughead emphasized, struggling, “It’s none of your business. We’re not friends.”

At that, Reggie shoved Jughead into the locker behind them and kept him there. It left Jughead’s head spinning. He winced as he reeled from the pain. Fuck, this is why he shouldn’t pick fights.

Jughead groaned. He was bracing himself for another hit from the other. Typical of the jock picks on loner formula. Jughead wouldn’t fight it. Just take it so it would be over sooner. He would leave, maybe swipe some stuff from nurse’s office, then lick his wounds. 

But the punch never came. 

Reggie was just staring at Jughead. Expression filled with concern. 

This was worse than getting beat up. Reggie, the bully, was worried for him. What the fuck. 

“Are you like...” Reggie said, trying to work out how to say it, “did you kicked out of your house or something?” 

Jughead let go of the breath he’d been holding. Discomfort setting in over him. The subject of the question. The awkward position of spine against the metal locker. How fucking close Reggie was as he pinned him against it. The intimacy of it. The fact it was Reggie Mantle.  
Jughead wriggled awkwardly, trying to get away, but he answered, “I didn’t get kicked out of my house. I’ll fucking explain, but get off me...”

Reggie paused for a moment, digesting the answer. He let off and took a step away. 

Jughead slumped against the wall, trying to ground himself. He had to remind himself it was an open space. He was fine. 

“Sorry, bro,” Reggie muttered, realizing he’d made it worse. 

“It’s okay...” Jughead started on reflex, “I guess.”

Reggie didn’t know what to do with himself as Jughead was coming down from an... anxiety attack? That’s what Midge had called them. He was awful at shit at stuff like this. He sat down on a bench opposite of Jughead. Willing to wait it out. 

“I’m seriously really sorry, I didn’t mean to give you an anxiety attack or nothing,” Reggie thought aloud. 

Reggie using that term honestly surprised Jughead. He wondered where he’d heard it. But he didn’t pursue that line of thought. 

“It’s not anxiety,” Jughead corrected, thinking on it, “Or I don’t believe it is. I just don’t like people getting close or touching me all of a sudden.”

“Right,” Reggie took it in. He wouldn’t think anyone liked getting shoved into lockers at all, but he didn’t voice that thought. 

Jughead felt a little better at least. His breathing evened out. The tunnel vision faded. 

After a moment, he decided to take a seat beside Reggie. Or at least near him. 

This time they would have to talk about it. 

“How did you figure it out something was up?” Jughead asked. He was honestly curious, “I mean, wet hair didn’t just tip you off, did it?” 

Reggie was ruffled, “I just noticed stuff.”

“Since when are you observant?” Jughead tried to give it a sweet edge to it. He just narrowly avoided Mantle’s wrath. He’d rather not go for a round too. 

Reggie smirked, “I’m actually pretty fucking smarter, Jones.”  
“Care to elaborate your line of thinking?” Jughead offered back, amused. 

“Well, I don’t know,” Reggie filled in as he tried to remember, “You do stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Jughead laughed, “C’mon, Mantle, this isn’t one of Flutesnoot’s essays. It doesn’t have to be a magnum opus.”

“Magnum opus?” Reggie echoed. 

Jughead blanched, “Nevermind. Why did you think something was up?”

Reggie furrowed his brows, “You won’t even tell me what was up.”

“I will,” Jughead insisted, raising his hand in a swear of promise to, “I’d just like to know how so I can prevent anyone else from finding out, y’know?”

He said it in a joking way, but it made Reggie discomforted at how much like the truth it sounded. 

“Okay,” Reggie gave in, “You spend all your time after school at Pop’s.”

“I love his burgers,” Jughead justified, adding as an amused after-thought, “And free Wi-Fi.”

Reggie bristled at how casual he was about this, “Dude, I don’t know, your laptop is kinda outdated. You wear the same clothes every week.”

“Well, hey, just because you're rich enough to afford to always get the new iPhone model doesn’t mean squat.” 

Reggie snapped, “Listen, I know I’m out of touch about shit like that, but this is different? You don’t see fucking Andrews hosing off secretly after school hours.”

The mention of Archie brought back the tension they were well-acquainted with by now. 

Reggie never understood what made the two friends stop talking to each other. It was never something he could bring up with Archie, they weren’t that good of friends. And Jughead... well, Reggie had never imagined actually having a real conversation with him before all this. 

“Does anybody else know?” Reggie questioned, “Does Archie know?”

“No,” Jughead answered honestly, “I don’t want him to know either.”

“C’mon, man, I’m sure he still cares for you regardless of what happened. I’m sure he wouldn’t wanna see you like this,” Reggie tried to talk.  
“What I say about talking about shit you don’t know?” Jughead snapped. 

“This isn’t some movie trivia shit, Ebert,” Reggie shrugged it off, “if you’re living the way you are, it isn’t, I don’t know, healthy?” 

Jughead quieted. He couldn’t argue against that. Reggie had a point, but he didn’t know at all what Jughead was dealing with. Reggie didn’t know Jughead. And he didn’t owe an explanation to anyone about it, especially him. 

“Why do you even care?” Jughead asked in anger.

Reggie flushed as the questioning was turned on him. But also he was unsure of the answer himself. When had he developed this fixation over Jughead’s well-being? He honestly had no good reason to give a shit about Jughead Jones yet here he fucking was. Trying to get Jughead to confide in him and maybe get him some help. How the fuck did this happen?

Reggie was fingering the edge of the bench, gathering his thoughts. It was just a tick, needing to touch something. Jughead’s eyes were focused on Reggie’s jittering. 

“Listen, man,” Reggie finally said. Jughead was uncomfortable at how tender Reggie’s voice was.

“Yeah?” Jughead asked. He was uncomfortable with how tender he was. 

“Whatever is happening to you,” Reggie began, “it’s hard enough at the school to be carrying shit like this alone.”

It sounded like a completely different person was talking out of Reggie Mantle’s mouth. 

“I think you should talk to Archie,” he advised.

Jughead shook his head, “Not happening.”

Reggie growled, “Holy shit, dude, you can’t keep doing this. If I figured it out, how long before Coach does? Before Principal Weatherbee does? And you say you don’t want people involved, but they’re not gonna give you a choice. This isn’t the 50s, shit like this doesn’t fly anymore. If something is wrong, the authorities are gonna intervene. They’ll find out and do something. And it won’t care how you feel when they do.”

Reggie spoke from experience at this point. Jughead knew that much. He wanted to ask what had happened to Reggie to make it so personally. 

He wanted to ask. But he didn’t.

The two just sat there, taking it all in. Not sure how to proceed now that it was out there.

Jughead and Reggie couldn’t either one of them was having this conversation with each other. Yesterday, it would’ve been just as likely for Reggie to threaten Jughead with violence than for them to have a pseudo heart-to-heart. 

“Listen,” Reggie caught Jughead’s attention, their eyes meeting, “Can you at least come to my place or something so I’m not worried out of my mind?”

“Yeah,” Jughead felt an unsure smile pull to his lips, “I guess.”

**Author's Note:**

> this wasn't shippy as i meant it to be, but hey... enemies to friends is only first half of "enemies to friends to lovers"
> 
> you can find me at: reggiemantled.tumblr.com


End file.
